Vehicle air conditioner

ABSTRACT

A vehicle air conditioner is disclosed. The present invention provides the vehicle air conditioner, which: can directly control the amount of air passing through an evaporator and a heater core since a blower is disposed between the evaporator and the heater core; has front and rear seat discharge units respectively having heater cores, thereby having a simple form, minimizing energy consumption, and independently enabling four or more zones, including front and rear seats, the left and right of the front seats, and the left and right of the rear seats, to be air-conditioned; and can discharge an offensive smell to the outside during initial driving of a vehicle since the air outside a vehicle, flowing in from an air inlet, and indoor air flowing in from an inside air suction port, disposed at the center of the vehicle, are discharged to the outside of the vehicle by means of a second blower, and not by a front seat blower, for discharging the air to the rear seats.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application is a National Stage of International Patent ApplicationNo. PCT/KR2018/008255, filed Jul. 23, 2018 which claims priority toKorean Patent Application No. KR 10-2017-0095263, filed Jul. 27, 2017and Korean Patent Application No. KR 10-2017-0127767, filed Sep. 29,2017. The entire disclosures of each of the above application areincorporated herein by reference.

TECHNICAL FIELD

The present invention relates to an air conditioner for a vehicle, andmore particularly, to an air conditioner for a vehicle, which is simplein structure, and can minimize energy consumption, independently performair-conditioning at the front seat and the rear seat, and dischargeunpleasant smell to the outside at the time of initial starting of thevehicle.

BACKGROUND ART

In general, an air conditioner for a vehicle is an apparatus for coolingor heating the interior of the vehicle by cooling or heating through theprocess of introducing outdoor air into the interior of the vehicle orcirculating indoor air of the vehicle. Such an air conditioner for avehicle includes an evaporator for cooling the inside of anair-conditioning case; a heater core for heating the inside of theair-conditioning case; and a mode converting door for selectivelyblowing the air cooled by the evaporator or heated by the heater coretoward parts of the interior of the vehicle.

According to mounted structures of an air blower unit, an evaporatorunit and a heater core unit, such an air conditioner is classified intoa three-piece type air conditioner where the air blower unit, theevaporator unit, and the heater core unit are disposed independently, asemi-center type air conditioner where the evaporator unit and theheater core unit are embedded in an air conditioning case and the airblower unit is mounted separately, and a center-mounting type airconditioner where the three units are all embedded in the airconditioning case.

FIG. 1 is a conceptual diagram of a conventional air conditioner for avehicle. As shown in the drawing, the conventional air conditionerincludes: a blower unit 10 including an indoor air inlet 21 and anoutdoor air inlet 22, which are formed at one side, an indoor andoutdoor air converting door 23 mounted to selectively open and close theindoor air inlet 21 and the outdoor air inlet 22, and a blast fan 35 forforcedly blowing indoor air and outdoor air toward an air inlet 43 of anair-conditioning case 40; and the air-conditioning case 40 having theair inlet 43 for introducing the air blown from the blower unit 10, anair outlet 44 for discharging the air, and an evaporator 41 and a heatercore 42 mounted in the air-conditioning case 40 to be spaced apart fromeach other at a predetermined interval.

Here, the indoor and outdoor air converting door 23 may adopt one ofvarious types, such as a plate type, a dome type which is under littlepressure of air, a cylindrical type, and a hemispherical type.

FIG. 2 is a perspective view showing a semi center type air conditioneramong the conventional air conditioners. The air conditioner 1 includes:an air-conditioning case 40 having an air inlet 43 formed at an entranceand a plurality of air outlets 44 formed at an exit; and a blower unit10 for selectively introducing indoor air and outdoor air through anindoor air inlet and an outdoor air inlet 22 formed at an upper partthereof to forcedly blow the air toward the air inlet 43.

The air-conditioning case 40 includes an upper case formed by assemblyof a left case and a right case and a lower case assembled to the bottomof the upper case.

Moreover, an evaporator 41 and a heater core (not shown) are mountedinside the air-conditioning case 40 in order, and a temperatureadjusting door (not shown) for adjusting temperature and mode doors (notshown) for carrying out various air-conditioning modes are mountedinside the air-conditioning case 40.

Furthermore, the indoor and outdoor air inlets 21 and 22 arecommunicated with the air inlet 43 of the air-conditioning case 40, andthe blast fan 35 is disposed below the indoor and outdoor air inlets 21and 22. In this instance, the air inlet 43 is formed on the side surfaceof the air-conditioning case 40.

That is, the blast fan 35 forcedly blows the air introduced from theindoor and outdoor air inlets 21 and 22 to the air inlet 43 formed onthe later a surface of the air-conditioning case 40 by rotation. In thisinstance, a passageway of the air is formed in such a way that the airintroduced into the indoor and outdoor air inlets 21 and 22 flowsdownwardly, passes through the blast fan 35, and is introduced into theair inlet 43 formed on the side surface of the air-conditioning case 40by rotation of the blast fan 35. That is, the blast fan 35 is disposedbelow the indoor and outdoor air inlets 21 and 22, and theair-conditioning case 40 is disposed next to the blower unit 10 tocommunicate with the blower unit 10.

According to the air conditioner 1, the air blown to the inside of theair-conditioning case 40 by operation of the blower unit 10 passes theevaporator 41, and is cooled or heated while selectively passing theheater core 42 by the temperature adjusting door. As described above,the cooled or heated air is supplied to the interior of the vehiclethrough ducts (not shown) connected with a plurality of air outlets 44to cool or heat the interior of the vehicle.

Meanwhile, an autonomous vehicle is a vehicle to automatically drive tobe capable of performing a typical transporting function. The autonomousvehicle detects circumstances around the vehicle without humanintervention, and can do autonomous navigation driving. Now, there areprototypes of a vehicle driven by a robot. Such an autonomous vehicleincludes a sensing means, such as a radar, an LIDAR, a GPS, and acomputer vision in order to sense circumstances around the vehicle. Amore advanced sensing means can interpret not only a route of thecorresponding navigation but also a distinguishing means, such as signsrelated with obstacles.

Additionally, the autonomous vehicle can automatically renew a mapaccording to input of a sensor in order to maintain the route even underunregistered circumstances or under situations with changed conditions.All of the structures make it possible not for a man but for a computerto synthetically judge and actually control and drive a vehicle drivingdevice.

In case of such autonomous vehicles capable of unmanned driving, adriver may not sit on the front seat, or the front seat may face therear side. In this instance, if it is needed to discharge cold or warmair up to the front seat in order to discharge cold or warm air to therear seat, such autonomous vehicles have a disadvantage in that energyefficiency is deteriorated.

Because new technologies related with such autonomous vehicles haveemerged, new technologies must be applied to the air conditionersinstalled inside the autonomous vehicles in order to give conveniencefor passengers. Since introduction and available time of the autonomousvehicles approach, introduction of air conditioners coping with changesin the interiors of vehicles is required. In addition, such autonomousvehicles lack the requisite skills for rapidly removing bad smellsgenerated from the evaporator and quickly ventilating indoor air at thetime of initial starting.

DISCLOSURE Technical Problem

Accordingly, the present invention has been made in view of theabove-mentioned problems occurring in the prior art, and it is an objectof the present invention to provide an air conditioner for a vehicle,which can directly control an amount of air passing through anevaporator and a heater core since a blower is arranged between anevaporator and a heater core, and which is simple in structure, and canminimize energy consumption and independently carry out air-conditioningrelative to a plurality of areas including the front seat and the rearseat due to a front seat discharge unit having the heater core and arear seat discharge unit having the heater core.

It is another object of the present invention to provide an airconditioner for a vehicle, which includes a front seat blower fordischarging air to the front seat and a second blower for dischargingair to the rear seat so that outdoor air of the vehicle introduced froman air inlet and indoor air introduced from an indoor air intakearranged at the center of the vehicle can discharge unpleasant smell tothe outside not by the front seat blower but by the second blower at thetime of initial starting of the vehicle.

Technical Solution

To accomplish the above object, according to the present invention,there is provided an air conditioner for a vehicle including a firstunit and a second unit, wherein the first unit has an air inlet and aheat exchanger, the second unit communicates with the first unit and hasa blower disposed therein, the air introduced from the air inlet isinhaled to the second unit after passing through the heat exchanger, adischarge duct is disposed to discharge the inhaled air to a pluralityof areas in the interior of the vehicle, and the air-conditioned airpassing through the heat exchanger is selectively discharged to theplurality of areas to individually perform air-conditioning in theplurality of areas.

Moreover, the plurality of areas include discharge units, whichcommunicate with the second unit by discharge ducts and selectively blowthe air blown from the blower, the first unit includes a heating heatexchanger disposed therein, and the discharge unit has a heating heatexchanger disposed therein.

Furthermore, the discharge unit includes: a front seat discharge unithaving a front seat heating heat exchanger disposed therein and a frontseat air outlet for discharging the air passing through the front seatheating heat exchanger; and a rear seat discharge unit having a rearseat heating heat exchanger disposed therein and a rear seat air outletfor discharging the air passing through the rear seat heating heatexchanger, wherein the air introduced into the air inlet is dischargedto a front seat left temperature adjusting door through the front seatheating heat exchanger or discharged to a rear seat right temperatureadjusting door through the rear seat heating heat exchanger afterpassing through the cooling heat exchanger and the blower.

Additionally, the front seat discharge unit includes: a front seat leftoutlet and a front seat right outlet for discharging wind to theinterior of the vehicle; a front seat left temperature adjusting doordisposed at one side of the front seat heating heat exchanger to adjusttemperature of wind discharged to the front seat left outlet; and afront seat right temperature adjusting door disposed at one side of thefront seat heating heat exchanger to adjust temperature of winddischarged to the front seat right outlet.

In addition, the rear seat discharge unit includes: a rear seat leftoutlet and a rear seat right outlet for discharging wind to the interiorof the vehicle; a rear seat left temperature adjusting door disposed atone side of the rear seat heating heat exchanger to adjust temperatureof wind discharged to the rear seat left outlet; and a rear seat righttemperature adjusting door disposed at one side of the rear seat heatingheat exchanger to adjust temperature of wind discharged to the rear seatright outlet.

Moreover, the air conditioner for a vehicle according to the presentinvention further includes a separation means for dividing the windblown to the plurality of discharge units.

Furthermore, the air inlet of the first unit includes an indoor airinlet which is an inlet for inhaling the indoor air of the vehicle, anoutdoor air inlet which is an inlet for inhaling the outdoor air of thevehicle, and an indoor and outdoor air door disposed at one side toselectively introduce the indoor air or the outdoor air of the vehicle.

Additionally, the first unit may include an air filter arranged betweenthe air inlet and the cooling heat exchanger to remove foreign matters.

In addition, the first unit may include a condensate water drain forpreventing leakage of condensate water dropping from the cooling heatexchanger and drain the condensate water to the outside smoothly.

Moreover, the second unit includes an air blast adjusting door foradjusting the degree of opening of a passageway to blow air to theplurality of discharge units.

Furthermore, a plurality of the blowers are disposed corresponding tothe discharge ducts to blow air to the plurality of discharge ducts.

Additionally, the plurality of areas communicate with each other by thesecond unit and the discharge duct, the first unit has a cooling heatexchanger disposed therein, and the discharge unit has a heating heatexchanger disposed therein.

In addition, the air conditioner according to the present invention mayinclude a separation means for dividing the wind blown to the pluralityof discharge units.

Moreover, the separation means may be arranged to be spaced apart fromthe cooling heat exchanger so that the cold air passing through thecooling heat exchanger is mixed and arrives at the separation means.

Furthermore, the plurality of discharge units may include adjustingdoors for adjusting the air blown to the plurality of discharge units.

Additionally, the discharge units include: a front seat discharge unithaving a front seat heating heat exchanger disposed therein and a frontseat air outlet for discharging the air passing through the front seatheating heat exchanger; a rear seat discharge unit having a rear seatheating heat exchanger disposed therein and a rear seat air outlet fordischarging the air passing through the rear seat heating heatexchanger; a blower for inhaling air from the first unit and blowingwind to the front seat discharge unit; and a second blower for inhalingair from the first unit and blowing wind to the rear seat dischargeunit.

In addition, a front seat adjusting door is disposed at one side of theblower to block the wind introduced into the blower, and a rear seatadjusting door is disposed at one side of a rear seat vent to block thewind introduced into the second blower.

Moreover, the front seat discharge unit includes: a front seat leftoutlet and a front seat right outlet for discharging wind to theinterior of the vehicle; a front seat left temperature adjusting doordisposed at one side of the front seat heating heat exchanger to adjusttemperature of wind discharged to the front seat left outlet; and afront seat right temperature adjusting door disposed at one side of thefront seat heating heat exchanger to adjust temperature of winddischarged to the front seat right outlet.

Furthermore, the rear seat discharge unit includes: a rear seat leftoutlet and a rear seat right outlet for discharging wind to the interiorof the vehicle; a rear seat left temperature adjusting door disposed atone side of the rear seat heating heat exchanger to adjust temperatureof wind discharged to the rear seat left outlet; and a rear seat righttemperature adjusting door disposed at one side of the rear seat heatingheat exchanger to adjust temperature of wind discharged to the rear seatright outlet.

Additionally, the discharge unit includes a PTC heater disposed therein,communicates with the first unit, and further includes a blower and aheater control unit for controlling the PTC heater.

In addition, the discharge units include: a front seat discharge unithaving a front seat PTC heater disposed therein and a front seat airoutlet for discharging the air passing through the front seat PTCheater; a rear seat discharge unit having a rear seat PTC heaterdisposed therein and a rear seat air outlet for discharging the airpassing through the rear seat PTC heater; a blower for inhaling the airfrom the first unit and blowing wind to the front seat discharge unit;and a second blower for inhaling air from the first unit and blowingwind to the rear seat discharge unit along the rear seat vent.

Moreover, the rear seat vent is arranged at the floor of the interior ofthe vehicle, and an indoor air intake is formed at one side thereof.

Furthermore, the air conditioner for a vehicle according to the presentinvention further includes a communication vent which makes the windpassing through the blower pass through the rear seat discharge unit.

Additionally, the communication vent includes a communication vent doorfor adjusting the degree of opening of the communication vent.

In another aspect of the present invention, there is provided an airconditioner according for a vehicle, which includes an indoor andoutdoor air inlet, a front seat air outlet and a rear seat air outlet,including: a front seat blower for discharging air to the front seat airoutlet; a second blower for discharging air to the rear seat air outlet;and a discharge hole for discharging air of a downstream side to theoutside of the vehicle by the second blower.

Moreover, the air conditioner further includes: an auxiliary indoor airintake arranged between the front seat blower and the second blower tointroduce the inside air of the vehicle; and a rear seat vent arrangedat the floor of the vehicle to introduce air from the indoor and outdoorair inlet and/or the auxiliary indoor air intake, and communicating withthe rear seat air outlet and the discharge hole.

Furthermore, the air conditioner further includes: a control unit forselectively controlling the front seat blower or the second blower tooperate the front seat blower when a passenger sits on a front seatsheet and to operate the second blower when the passenger sits on a rearseat sheet.

Additionally, the air conditioner further includes: a front seatadjusting door disposed at one side of the front seat blower to open andclose a flow of air toward the front seat air outlet; and a rear seatadjusting door disposed at one side of the second blower to open andclose a flow of air toward the rear seat air outlet.

In addition, the indoor and outdoor air inlet includes an indoor airinlet and an outdoor air inlet, an opening and closing door is disposedat one side of the discharge hole to open and close the discharge hole.In order to ventilate the interior of the vehicle, the front seatadjusting door is closed and the indoor air intake is opened, theopening and closing door is opened, and the second blower is operated,so that the outside air of the vehicle introduced from the outdoor airinlet and/or the inside air of the vehicle introduced from the indoorair intake can be discharged to the discharge hole by the second blower.

Moreover, the air conditioner further includes: a first unit having anindoor and outdoor air inlet and a cooling heat exchanger; a second unithaving a front seat adjusting door for opening and closing a flow of airtoward the front seat blower, the second blower and the front seat airoutlet and a rear seat adjusting door for opening and closing a flow ofair toward the rear seat air outlet; a front seat discharge unitcommunicating with the second unit and having a front seat heating heatexchanger and the front seat air outlet; and a rear seat discharge unitcommunicating with the second unit and having a rear seat heating heatexchanger and the rear seat air outlet.

Furthermore, the air conditioner for a vehicle further includes: anair-conditioning case in which the cooling heat exchanger of the firstunit, the front seat blower of the second unit, the front seat heatingheat exchanger and the front seat air outlet of the front seat dischargeunit are disposed, wherein the front seat blower is arranged between thecooling heat exchanger and the front seat heating heat exchanger.

Additionally, the first unit includes a first exit communicating withthe second unit, and a second exit communicating with the rear seat ventand formed below the first exit.

In addition, the second blower communicates with the rear seat vent andis arranged at the rear of the vehicle, and the rear seat discharge unitis arranged at the rear of the vehicle and discharges the air introducedby the second blower to the rear seat air outlet.

Advantageous Effects

As described above, the air conditioner for a vehicle according to anembodiment of the present invention can directly control an amount ofair passing through the evaporator and the heater core since the bloweris arranged between the evaporator and the heater core. Therefore, theair conditioner for a vehicle according to the present invention cansolve the problem of the conventional air conditioners have difficultyin directly controlling an amount of air introduced into the heater coresince the air, which passed through the evaporator by the blower, passesthrough the heater core.

Moreover, the air conditioner for a vehicle according to the embodimentof the present invention can utilize the interior space of the vehicleby remarkably reducing the volume of the air conditioner since theevaporator unit in which the evaporator is arranged, the front seatdischarge unit in which the front seat heater core is arranged, and therear seat discharge unit in which the rear seat heater core is arrangedare distinct from one another.

Furthermore, the air conditioner for a vehicle according to theembodiment of the present invention can save energy since one blower canindividually discharge cold air/warm air relative to all seats.

Additionally, the air conditioner for a vehicle according to theembodiment of the present invention can carry out air-conditioningaccording to all conditions through a simple structure and save energygreatly since having a communication vent through which wind passingthrough the blower can pass through the rear seat discharge unit.

In addition, the air conditioner for a vehicle according to theembodiment of the present invention can independently blow cold air orwarm air to the front seat and the rear seat by blowing wind toward thefront seat discharge unit by the blower and by blowing wind toward therear seat discharge unit by the second blower.

Moreover, the air conditioner for a vehicle according to anotherembodiment of the present invention can be simplified in structure sincehaving the PTC heater controlled by a heater control unit and notrequiring front seat and rear seat right and left temperature adjustingdoors.

Furthermore, the air conditioner for a vehicle according to theembodiment of the present invention can discharge the indoor airintroduced into the interior of the vehicle through the indoor airintake and bad smell generated from the cooling heat exchanger like theevaporator or generated from the inside of the air-conditioning case tothe outside of the vehicle through the air outlets.

Additionally, the air conditioner for a vehicle according to theembodiment of the present invention can directly control the amount ofair passing through the cooling heat exchanger and the front seat andrear seat heating heat exchangers since the blower is arranged betweenthe cooling heat exchanger and the heating heat exchanger.

In addition, the air conditioner for a vehicle according to theembodiment of the present invention can utilize the interior space ofthe vehicle by remarkably reducing the volume of the air conditioner notbecause the cooling heat exchanger and the heating heat exchanger arearranged in one unit but because the unit in which the cooling heatexchanger is arranged and the unit in which the front seat heating heatexchanger is arranged are distinct from each other.

DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a conceptual diagram of a conventional air conditioner for avehicle.

FIG. 2 is a perspective view showing the conventional air conditionerfor a vehicle.

FIG. 3 is a schematic diagram showing an air conditioner for a vehicleaccording to a first preferred embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 4 is a schematic diagram showing an air conditioner for a vehicleaccording to a second preferred embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 5 is a schematic diagram showing an air conditioner for a vehicleaccording to a third preferred embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 6 is a schematic diagram showing an air conditioner for a vehicleaccording to a fourth preferred embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 7 is a schematic diagram showing an air conditioner for a vehicleaccording to a fifth preferred embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 8 is a perspective view showing the air conditioner for a vehicleof FIG. 7 .

FIG. 9 is a perspective view showing an air-conditioning case and a roofvent connected to the air-conditioning case.

FIG. 10 is a perspective view showing the entire appearance of the airconditioner for a vehicle according to the preferred embodiment of thepresent invention.

FIG. 11 is a perspective view showing the air conditioner of FIG. 10 isarranged on the roof of the vehicle.

FIG. 12 is a schematic diagram showing an air conditioner for a vehicleaccording to a seventh preferred embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 13 is a perspective view showing the air conditioner of FIG. 10 isarranged on the floor of the vehicle.

EXPLANATION OF REFERENCE NUMERALS

-   -   100: vehicle air conditioner 110: air-conditioning case    -   120: front seat sheet 130: rear seat sheet    -   200: first unit 210: indoor air inlet    -   211: outdoor air inlet 220: air inlet    -   230: cooling heat exchanger 240: air filter    -   250: first exit 260: second exit    -   300: second unit 310: blower    -   311: front seat adjusting door 312: separation means    -   320: air blast adjusting door 330: second blower    -   340: rear seat vent 341: rear seat adjusting door    -   350: indoor air intake 360: front seat blower    -   370: auxiliary indoor air intake 380: rear seat outlet    -   400: front seat discharge unit    -   410: front seat heating heat exchanger    -   411: front seat left temperature adjusting door    -   412: front seat right temperature adjusting door    -   420: front seat air outlet 421: front seat left outlet    -   422: front seat right outlet 423: right seat roof outlet    -   424: right side outlet 425: defrost outlet    -   426: left side outlet 427: left roof outlet    -   430: front seat temperature adjusting door    -   450: front seat mode door    -   490: communication vent 491: communication vent door    -   500: rear seat discharge unit    -   510: rear seat heating heat exchanger    -   511: rear seat left temperature adjusting door    -   512: rear seat right temperature adjusting door    -   520: rear seat air outlet 521: rear seat left outlet    -   522: rear seat right outlet    -   530: rear seat temperature adjusting door    -   540: discharge hole 541: opening and closing door    -   550: rear seat mode door 600: roof vent    -   610: roof outlet 700: rear seat roof vent    -   710: rear seat roof outlet 800: defrost vent    -   810: defrost outlet 820: central outlet    -   900: heater control unit

MODE FOR INVENTION

In order to fully understand the present invention, exemplaryembodiments of the invention will be described with reference to theaccompanying drawings. The embodiments of the present invention may bemodified in many different forms and the scope of the invention shouldnot be limited to the embodiments set forth herein. Rather, theseembodiments are provided so that this disclosure will be thorough andcomplete, and will fully convey the concept of the invention to thoseskilled in the art. In the drawings, the shapes and dimensions may beexaggerated for clarity, and the same reference numerals will be usedthroughout to designate the same or like components. A detailedexplanation of known related functions and constitutions may be omittedto avoid unnecessarily obscuring the subject matter of the presentinvention.

FIG. 3 is a schematic diagram showing an air conditioner for a vehicleaccording to a first preferred embodiment of the present invention.

As shown in FIG. 3 , the air conditioner 100 for a vehicle according tothe preferred embodiment of the present invention includes: a first unit200, which includes an air inlet 220 having an indoor air inlet 210 andan outdoor air inlet 211 and a cooling heat exchanger 230 disposed inthe first unit 200; a second unit 300 communicating with the first unit200 and having an air blower 310 disposed therein; a front seatdischarge unit 400 communicating with the second unit 300 and includinga front seat heating heat exchanger 410 disposed therein and a frontseat air outlet 420 for discharging the air passing the front seatheating heat exchanger 410; and a rear seat discharge unit 500communicating with the second unit 300 and including a rear seat heatingheat exchanger 510 disposed therein and a rear seat air outlet 520 fordischarging the air passing the rear seat heating heat exchanger 510.

In this embodiment, differently from the conventional air conditionerthat indoor air or outdoor air passes through the blower, the evaporatorand the heater core in order and is discharged to the interior of thevehicle, the blower 310 is arranged between the cooling heat exchanger230 and the heating heat exchangers 410 and 510 so that indoor air oroutdoor air passes through the cooling heat exchanger 230, the blower310 and the heating heat exchangers 410 and 510 in order and isdischarged to the interior of the vehicle.

In this invention, the heating heat exchanger is disposed in a dischargeunit, but the heating heat exchanger may be a heater core for emittingheat or may be a PTC heater which will be described later. Likewise, thecooling heat exchanger may be an evaporator for absorbing heat byrefrigerant circulating in the vehicle.

The conventional air conditioner has a problem in that it is difficultto directly control an amount of air introduced into the heater core 410since the air which passed through the evaporator by the blower passesthrough the heater core, but the air conditioner for a vehicle accordingto the present invention can directly control an amount of air passingthrough the cooling heat exchanger 230 and the heater cores 410 and 510since the blower 310 is arranged between the cooling heat exchanger 230and the heater core 410.

Moreover, differently from the conventional air conditioner that thecooling heat exchanger and the heating heat exchanger occupy a widespace since being arranged in one unit side by side, the air conditioneraccording to this embodiment of the present invention can utilize theinterior space of the vehicle due to a remarkably reduced volume of theair conditioner since the first unit 200 in which the cooling heatexchanger 230 is arranged, the front seat discharge unit 400 in whichthe front seat heating heat exchanger 410 is arranged, and the rear seatdischarge unit 500 in which the rear seat heating heat exchanger 510 isarranged are distinct from one another.

Furthermore, the air conditioner for a vehicle according to thisembodiment of the present invention can save energy since individuallydischarging cold air or warm air relative to all seats using just oneblower 310. For instance, according to sitting locations of passengers,if a passenger sits at the right of the rear seat of an autonomousvehicle, the one blower 310 can independently discharge wind just to theright side of the rear seat or simultaneously or selectively dischargewind to the front seat and the rear seat.

The cooling heat exchanger 230 is arranged in the first unit 200, andthe air inlet 220 including the indoor air inlet 210, which is an inletfor inhaling indoor air of the vehicle, or the outdoor air inlet 211,which is an inlet for inhaling outdoor air of the vehicle, is formed atone side of the first unit 200. An indoor and outdoor air door (notshown) for selectively introducing indoor air or outdoor air may bedisposed at one side of the air inlet 220.

Furthermore, the first unit 200 has an air filter 240 disposed betweenthe air inlet 220 and the cooling heat exchanger 230 in order to removeforeign matters. Additionally, because the cooling heat exchanger 230 isarranged in the first unit 200, condensate water discharge hole (notshown) may be disposed on the bottom of the first unit 200 to preventleakage of condensate water dropping from the cooling heat exchanger 230and to drain the condensate water to the outside smoothly.

The blower 310 is disposed in the second unit 300 in order toselectively or simultaneously blow the air introduced from the firstunit 200 to the front seat discharge unit 400 and the rear seatdischarge unit 500. In this instance, a controller (not shown) candirectly control an amount of air blown to the discharge units 400 and500.

The blower 310 of the second unit 300 includes a scroll case in which ablast fan for forcedly blowing air toward the discharge units 400 and500 is mounted. That is, the blower 310 has the same structure as theconventional blower, but is arranged between the first unit 200 and thedischarge units 400 and 500 in the present invention.

The front seat and rear seat discharge units 400 and 500 communicatewith the second unit 300 to introduce the air blown from the blower 310,and the air blast adjusting door 320 for adjusting the degree of openingof a passageway for blowing the air to the front seat discharge unit 400or the rear seat discharge unit 500 is disposed at the end of the secondunit 300.

The front seat discharge unit 400 includes: a front seat left outlet 421and a front seat right outlet 422 which are outlets for discharging windto the interior of the vehicle; a front seat left temperature adjustingdoor 411 for adjusting temperature of the air discharged to the frontseat left outlet 421; and a front seat right temperature adjusting door412 for adjusting temperature of the air discharged to the front seatright outlet 422, wherein the front seat left temperature adjusting door411 and the front seat right temperature adjusting door 412 are disposedat one side of the front seat heating heat exchanger 410.

Likewise, the rear seat discharge unit 500 includes: a rear seat leftoutlet 521 and a rear seat right outlet 522; a rear seat lefttemperature adjusting door 511 for adjusting temperature of the airdischarged to the rear seat left outlet 521; and a rear seat righttemperature adjusting door 512 for adjusting temperature of the airdischarged to the rear seat right outlet 522, wherein the rear seat lefttemperature adjusting door 511 and the rear seat right temperatureadjusting door 512 are disposed at one side of the rear seat heatingheat exchanger 510.

Additionally, in the present invention, the discharge units are limitedto the front seat discharge unit 400 and the rear seat discharge unit500, but a plurality of discharge units including the front seatdischarge unit 400 and the rear seat discharge unit 500 can dischargethe air to a plurality of areas. In this instance, the air introducedfrom the air inlet 220 of the first unit 200 passes through the coolingheat exchanger 230 by the blower 310, and then is inhaled to the secondunit 300. The air inhaled to the second unit 300 can be discharged tothe plurality of areas after passing through the discharge unit. Adischarge duct is disposed to communicate with the second unit 300 sothat the air is discharged to the plurality of areas, and the heatingheat exchanger may be disposed at the plurality of areas. After that,the air inhaled to the second unit 300 may be discharged to the interiorof the vehicle after passing through the heat exchanger selectivelydisposed in the plurality of areas.

That is, because the above structure makes it possible to individuallyperform temperature adjustment, cooling and heating modes, and airvolume adjustment in the plurality of areas, the effects may bemaximized in the autonomous vehicle.

Hereinafter, an operational process of the air conditioner for a vehicleaccording to this embodiment will be described.

First, the air introduced into the air inlet 220 of the first unit 200by the blower 310 is blown to the second unit 300 after passing throughthe cooling heat exchanger 230. The blower 310 of the second unit 300blows wind toward the discharge units 400 and 500. In this instance, theblower 310 can control an amount of the air blown toward the front seatdischarge unit 400 or the rear seat discharge unit 500 by the air blastadjusting door 320.

That is, the air blast adjusting door 320 for selectively adjusting thewind selectively blown toward the discharge units 400 and 500 isdisposed at the rear end of the second unit 300 so that the wind blownfrom the second unit 300 can be selectively blown to the front seat orthe rear seat of the vehicle. For instance, the air blast adjusting door320 can blow the entire wind to the rear seat or to the front seat byadjusting the degree of opening of the air blast adjusting door 320.Alternatively, the air blast adjusting door 320 may blow 10% of the windto the front seat as much as needed for defrosting and 90% of the windto the rear seat to provide the passenger sitting on the rear seat withcold air. In this instance, it is described that the two discharge unitsare disposed at the front seat and the rear seat, but three or moredischarge units may be disposed in forward, rearward, upward, downwardand lateral directions. In this instance, a separation means 312 fordividing the wind blown to the plurality of discharge units is provided.

Therefore, the front seat discharge unit 400 includes the front seatleft temperature adjusting door 411 or the front seat right temperatureadjusting door 412 to discharge cold air or warm air to the front seatleft outlet 421 and the front seat right outlet 422 selectively andindependently.

For an example, when the passenger who is sitting on the rear seat wantsto discharge warm air to the rear seat right outlet 522, the air blastadjusting door 320 blocks the passageway toward the front seat dischargeunit 400 and opens the passageway toward the rear seat discharge unit500. Moreover, the rear seat heating heat exchanger 510 is operated, andthe rear seat left temperature adjusting door 511 blocks the passagewaybut the rear seat air outlet 520 opens the passageway.

For another example, when the passenger who is sitting on the front seatwants to discharge cold air to the front seat left outlet 421, the airblast adjusting door 320 blocks the passageway toward the rear seatdischarge unit 500 and opens the passageway toward the front seatdischarge unit 400. Moreover, the front seat heating heat exchanger 410is not operated, and the front seat right temperature adjusting door 412blocks the passageway but the front seat left temperature adjusting door411 opens the passageway.

FIG. 4 is a schematic diagram showing an air conditioner for a vehicleaccording to a second preferred embodiment of the present invention.

As shown in FIG. 4 , the air conditioner 100 for a vehicle according tothis embodiment further includes a second blower 330 without the airblast adjusting door 320 in order to blow wind toward the rear seatdischarge unit 500.

In detail, the air conditioner 100 for a vehicle according to thisembodiment includes: a first unit 200 including an air inlet 220, whichhas an indoor air inlet 210 and an outdoor air inlet 211, and a coolingheat exchanger 230 disposed therein; a front seat discharge unit 400including a front seat heating heat exchanger 410 disposed therein and afront seat air outlet 420 for discharging the air passing through thefront seat heating heat exchanger 410; a rear seat discharge unit 500including a rear seat heating heat exchanger 510 disposed therein and arear seat air outlet 520 for discharging the air passing through therear seat heating heat exchanger 510; a second unit 300 including ablower 310 for inhaling the air from the first unit 200 and blowing windtoward the front seat discharge unit 400 and a second blower 330 forinhaling air from the first unit 200 and blowing wind toward the rearseat discharge unit 500; and a separation means 312 for dividing thewind blown toward the plurality of discharge units 400 and 500.

In this embodiment, the air conditioner for a vehicle further includesthe second blower 330 for blowing wind toward the rear seat dischargeunit 500. Therefore, the second blower 330 blows wind toward the frontseat discharge unit 400 and blows wind toward the rear seat dischargeunit 500 by the second blower 330.

In this embodiment, for your better understanding, the number of thedischarge units are limited to two, namely, the front seat dischargeunit 400 and the rear seat discharge unit 500, but, a plurality ofdischarge units including various discharge paths, namely, the frontseat, the rear seat, the central seat, and the lateral surface, may bedisposed. In other words, the plurality of discharge units individuallyinclude the blowers to respectively blow wind.

Therefore, because cold air passing through one first unit 200 havingthe cooling heat exchanger 230 can be simultaneously or selectivelysupplied to the plurality of discharge units, the cooling heat exchanger230 can get the most use of the cooling heat exchanger 230.

Moreover, the separation means 312 is disposed at the rear end of thefirst unit 200 to divide the cold air passing through the cooling heatexchanger 230 so that the cold air is individually blown to theplurality of discharge units. For example, the separation means 312 maybe a partition wall or a duct for dividing the wind blown to theplurality of discharge units so that the wind is blown selectively. Arear vent 340 may be formed such that the wind flows to the rear seatdischarge unit 500 by the separation means 312.

Additionally, a plurality of adjusting doors may be disposed at one sideof the separation means 312 depending on the number of the dischargeunits in order to individually adjust the amount of air blown to theplurality of discharge units. That is, the plurality of adjusting doorscan send cold air as much as needed for the plurality of dischargeunits.

In detail, the blower 310 includes a front seat adjusting door 311disposed at one side of the blower 310 to adjust the wind introducedinto the blower 310 and a rear seat adjusting door 341 disposed at oneside of the rear seat vent 340 to adjust the wind introduced into thesecond blower 330. Therefore, the blower 310 can send cold air as muchas needed for the front seat discharge unit 400 or the rear seatdischarge unit 500 by the front seat adjusting door 311 or the rear seatadjusting door 341.

In addition, when any one among the blower 310 or the second blower 330is operated, the front seat adjusting door 311 and the rear seatadjusting door 341 can prevent the wind from being flown from the otherblower reversely.

Moreover, in this embodiment, preferably, the cooling heat exchanger 230and the separation means 312 are arranged to be spaced apart from eachother at a predetermined interval so that the cold air passing thecooling heat exchanger 230 is mixed completely and arrives at theseparation means 312.

Furthermore, the front seat discharge unit 400 includes: a front seatleft outlet 421 and a front seat right outlet 422; and a front seatheating heat exchanger 410 having a front seat left temperatureadjusting door 411 and a front seat right temperature adjusting door412, which are mounted at one side of the front seat heating heatexchanger 410, wherein the front seat left temperature adjusting door411 adjusts temperature of the air discharged to the front seat leftoutlet 421 and the front seat right temperature adjusting door 412adjusts temperature of the air discharged to the front seat right outlet422. Furthermore, the rear seat discharge unit 500 includes: a rear seatleft outlet 521 and a rear seat right outlet 522; and a rear seatheating heat exchanger 510 having a rear seat left temperature adjustingdoor 511 and a rear seat right temperature adjusting door 512, which aremounted at one side of the rear seat heating heat exchanger 510, whereinthe rear seat left temperature adjusting door 511 adjusts temperature ofthe air discharged to the rear seat left outlet 521 and the rear seatright temperature adjusting door 512 adjusts temperature of the airdischarged to the rear seat right outlet 522.

FIG. 5 is a schematic diagram showing an air conditioner for a vehicleaccording to a third preferred embodiment of the present invention.

As shown in FIG. 5 , the air conditioner 100 for a vehicle according tothis embodiment of the present invention includes a front seat PTCheater (Positive Temperature Coefficient heater) 470 and a rear seat PTCheater 570, which are substituted for the front seat heating heatexchanger 410 and the rear seat heating heat exchanger 510, and a heatercontrol unit 900 disposed at one side of the vehicle to adjusttemperature of the air discharged to the front and rear seat air outlets420 and 520 by directly controlling duty of the PTC heaters 470 and 570.

Therefore, the heater control unit 900 directly controls the heaters 470and 570 without the front and rear seat right and left temperatureadjusting doors 411, 412, 511 and 512, which were disposed at the frontend of the heater core.

In detail, the air conditioner 100 for a vehicle according to thisembodiment includes: a first unit 200 having an air inlet 220 and acooling heat exchanger 230 disposed therein; a front seat discharge unit400 having a front seat PTC heater 470 disposed therein and a front seatair outlet 420 for discharging the air passing through the front seatPTC heater 470; a rear seat discharge unit 500 having a rear seat PTCheater 570 disposed therein and a rear seat air outlet 520 fordischarging the air passing through the rear seat PTC heater 570; asecond unit 300 having a blower 310 for inhaling air from the first unit200 and blowing wind to the front seat discharge unit 400, and a secondblower 330 for inhaling air from the first unit 200 and blowing wind tothe rear seat discharge unit 500 along a rear seat vent 340; and theheater control unit 900 for controlling the front seat PTC heater 470and the rear seat PTC heater 570.

Additionally, in this embodiment, the rear seat vent 340 may be arrangedat the floor of the interior of the vehicle, and an indoor air intake350 may be formed at one side of the rear seat vent 340. Therefore, in aheating mode, when the indoor air intake 350 is opened, because the airin the interior of the vehicle directly goes to the PTC heater 570without passing through the cooling heat exchanger 230, the interior ofthe vehicle can be heated rapidly.

FIG. 6 is a schematic diagram showing an air conditioner for a vehicleaccording to a fourth preferred embodiment of the present invention.

As shown in FIG. 6 , the air conditioner 100 for a vehicle according tothis embodiment further includes a communication vent 490 so that thewind passing through the blower 310 can goes through the rear seatdischarge unit 500. That is, the blower 310 can blow the air to thefront seat discharge unit 400 and the rear seat discharge unit 500 atthe same time, and the wind can be introduced into the rear seatdischarge unit 500 from the blower 310 and the second blower 330.

In addition, the communication vent 490 includes a communication ventdoor 491 for adjusting the degree of opening of the communication vent490. Here, in FIG. 6 , it is illustrated that the communication vent 490communicates with the rear seat discharge unit 500 before the air passesthrough the front seat heating heat exchanger 410, but this embodimentis not restricted to the above.

If a passenger sits just on the rear seat of the autonomous vehicle, thesecond blower 330 is not used, and only the blower 310 is used todischarge cold air to the front seat and cold air or warm air to therear seat. Moreover, if the autonomous vehicle has two or more arrays ofthe rear seat, the blower 310 and the second blower 330 are used at thesame time to strongly blow cold air to the rear seat.

Especially, energy saving in the autonomous vehicle is very important.According to this embodiment, the air conditioner for a vehicle can saveenergy greatly when window defogging of the front seat is needed in thestate where the passenger is sitting just on the rear seat, andindividually carry out air-conditioning according to all conditionsthrough the simple structure.

FIG. 7 is a schematic diagram showing an air conditioner for a vehicleaccording to a fifth preferred embodiment of the present invention.

As shown in FIG. 7 , the air conditioner 100 for a vehicle according tothis embodiment includes: a first unit 200 including an indoor andoutdoor air inlet 220, which has an indoor air inlet 210 and an outdoorair inlet 211, and a cooling heat exchanger 230 disposed therein; asecond unit 300 including a plurality of blowers for inhaling air fromthe first unit 200 and a plurality of separation means for dividing theair to blow the air to a plurality of discharge units; and the pluralityof discharge units for discharging the air introduced into the pluralityof blowers and the separation means toward a plurality of areas.

For example, as shown in the drawing, the plurality of discharge unitsmay include a front seat discharge unit 400 and a rear seat dischargeunit 500.

The front seat discharge unit 400 includes: a front seat temperatureadjusting door 430 and a front seat heating heat exchanger 410 disposedtherein; a front seat air outlet 420 for discharging the air passingthrough the front seat heating heat exchanger 410; and a front seat modedoor 450 for opening and closing the front seat air outlet 420. The rearseat discharge unit 500 includes: a rear seat temperature adjusting door530 and a rear seat heating heat exchanger 510 disposed therein; a rearseat air outlet 520 for discharging the air passing through the rearseat heating heat exchanger 510; and a rear seat mode door 550 foropening and closing the rear seat air outlet 520.

That is, for your better understanding of the present invention, in thisembodiment, the number of the discharge units is limited to two, namely,the front seat discharge unit 400 and the rear seat discharge unit 500,but a plurality of discharge units including various discharge paths,namely, the front seat, the rear seat, the central seat, and the lateralsurface, may be disposed. In other words, the plurality of dischargeunits individually include the blowers to respectively blow wind.

In this instance, the plurality blowers disposed at the second unit 300may be a front seat blower 360 for inhaling air from the first unit 200and blowing wind to the front seat discharge unit 400, and a secondblower 330 for inhaling air from the first unit 200 and blowing wind tothe rear seat discharge unit 500, and the separation means 312 dividesand blow the wind blown to the front and rear seat discharge units 400and 500.

Moreover, the separation means 312 are disposed at the rear end of thefirst unit 200 to divide the cold air passing through the cooling heatexchanger 230 to be individually blown to the plurality of dischargeunits. That is, the separation means 312 may be a partition wall or aduct for dividing the wind blown to the plurality of discharge units sothat the wind is blown selectively. A rear vent 340 may be formed suchthat the wind flows to the rear seat discharge unit 500 by theseparation means 312.

Additionally, a plurality of mode doors may be disposed at one side ofthe separation means 312 depending on the number of the discharge unitsin order to individually adjust the amount of air blown to the pluralityof discharge units. That is, the plurality of adjusting doors can sendcold air as much as needed for the plurality of discharge units.

In detail, a front seat adjusting door 311 is disposed at one side ofthe front seat blower 360 to adjust the wind introduced into the frontseat blower 360, and a rear seat adjusting door 341 is disposed at oneside of the rear seat vent 340 to adjust the wind introduced into thesecond blower 330. Therefore, cold air as much as needed for the frontseat discharge unit 400 or the rear seat discharge unit 500 is blown bythe front seat adjusting door 311 or the rear seat adjusting door 341.

In addition, when any one among the front seat blower 360 or the secondblower 330 is operated, the front seat adjusting door 311 and the rearseat adjusting door 341 can prevent the wind from being flown from theother blower reversely. Therefore, because cold air passing through onefirst unit 200 having the cooling heat exchanger 230 can besimultaneously or selectively supplied to the plurality of dischargeunits, the cooling heat exchanger 230 can get the most use of thecooling heat exchanger 230.

Moreover, differently from the conventional air conditioner that indoorair or outdoor air is discharged to the interior of the vehicle afterpassing through the blower, the evaporator and the heater core in order,in case of the air conditioner according to this embodiment that theblowers 360 and 330 are arranged between the cooling heat exchanger 230and the heating heat exchangers 410 and 510, the indoor air or theoutdoor air is discharged to the interior of the vehicle after passingthrough the cooling heat exchanger 230, the front seat blower 360 andthe front and rear seat heating heat exchangers 410 and 510 in order.

Therefore, the front seat blower 360 blows wind toward the front seatdischarge unit 400, and the second blower 330 blows wind toward the rearseat discharge unit 500.

That is, the conventional air conditioner has a problem in that it isdifficult to directly control an amount of air introduced into theheater core since the air which passed through the evaporator by oneblower passes through the heater core, but the air conditioner for avehicle according to the present invention can directly control anamount of air passing through the cooling heat exchanger 230 and thefront seat and rear seat heating heat exchangers 410 and 510 since theblowers 360 and 330 are arranged between the cooling heat exchanger 230and the front seat and rear seat heating heat exchangers 410 and 510.

Moreover, differently from the conventional air conditioner that thecooling heat exchanger and the heating heat exchanger occupy a widespace since being arranged in one unit side by side, the air conditioneraccording to this embodiment of the present invention can utilize theinterior space of the vehicle due to a remarkably reduced volume of theair conditioner since the first unit 200 in which the cooling heatexchanger 230 is arranged, the front seat discharge unit 400 in whichthe front seat heating heat exchanger 410 is arranged, and the rear seatdischarge unit 500 in which the rear seat heating heat exchanger 510 isarranged are distinct from one another.

In this instance, the cooling heat exchanger 230 is arranged in thefirst unit 200, and the air inlet 220 including the indoor air inlet210, which is an inlet for inhaling indoor air of the vehicle, or theoutdoor air inlet 211, which is an inlet for inhaling outdoor air of thevehicle, is formed at one side of the first unit 200. An indoor andoutdoor air door (not shown) for selectively introducing indoor air oroutdoor air may be disposed at one side of the air inlet 220.

Furthermore, the first unit 200 has an air filter 240 disposed betweenthe air inlet 220 and the cooling heat exchanger 230 in order to removeforeign matters. Additionally, because the cooling heat exchanger 230 isarranged in the first unit 200, condensate water discharge hole (notshown) may be disposed on the bottom of the first unit 200 to preventleakage of condensate water dropping from the cooling heat exchanger 230and to drain the condensate water to the outside smoothly.

The blowers 360 and 330 are disposed in the second unit 300 in order toblow the air introduced from the first unit 200 to the front seatdischarge unit 400 and the rear seat discharge unit 500. In thisinstance, a controller (not shown) can directly control an amount of airblown to the discharge units 400 and 500.

The blowers 360 and 330 of the second unit 300 may be a scroll case inwhich a blast fan for forcedly blowing air toward the discharge units400 and 500 is mounted. That is, the blowers 360 and 330 have the samestructure as the conventional blower, but are arranged between the firstunit 200 and the discharge units 400 and 500 in the present invention.

First, the air introduced into the air inlet 220 of the first unit 200by the blowers 360 and 330 of the second unit 300 is blown to the secondunit 300 after passing through the cooling heat exchanger 230. Theblowers 360 and 330 of the second unit 300 blow wind toward thedischarge units 400 and 500.

Additionally, in the present invention, the discharge units are limitedto the front seat discharge unit 400 and the rear seat discharge unit500, but a plurality of discharge units including the front seatdischarge unit 400 and the rear seat discharge unit 500 can dischargethe air to a plurality of areas. In this instance, the air introducedfrom the air inlet 220 of the first unit 200 can be discharged to theplurality of discharge units by the blowers of the second unit 300. Inthis instance, a plurality of discharge ducts are disposed tocommunicate with the second unit 300, and the heating heat exchanger maybe disposed at the plurality of areas. After that, the air inhaled tothe second unit 300 may be discharged to the interior of the vehicleafter passing through the heat exchanger selectively disposed in theplurality of areas. That is, because the above structure makes itpossible to individually perform temperature adjustment, cooling andheating modes, and air volume adjustment in the plurality of areas, theeffects may be maximized in the autonomous vehicle.

In this invention, the heating heat exchangers 410 and 510 are disposedin the discharge units, but the heating heat exchangers may be heatercores for emitting heat or may be PTC heaters which will be describedlater. Likewise, the cooling heat exchangers may be evaporators forabsorbing heat by refrigerant circulating in the vehicle.

For instance, the front seat and rear seat heating heat exchangers 410and 510 may be PTC heaters (Positive Temperature Coefficient heaters),and a heater control unit 900 disposed at one side of the vehicledirectly controls duty of the front seat and rear seat heating heatexchangers 410 and 510 which are the PTC heaters in order to adjusttemperature of the air discharged to the front and rear seat air outlets420 and 520. Therefore, the heater control unit 900 directly controlsthe front seat and rear seat heating heat exchangers 410 and 510, whichare the PTC heaters, without the front seat and rear seat right and lefttemperature adjusting doors 430 and 530, which were disposed at thefront end of the front seat and rear seat heating heat exchangers 410and 510.

Meanwhile, the rear seat vent 340 is arranged at the floor of theinterior of the vehicle, and an auxiliary indoor air intake 370 isformed at one side of the rear seat vent 340. Therefore, in the heatingmode, when the auxiliary indoor air intake 370 is opened, because theair in the interior of the vehicle directly goes to the rear seatheating heat exchanger 510 without passing through the cooling heatexchanger 230, the interior of the vehicle can be heated rapidly.

FIG. 8 is a perspective view showing the air conditioner for a vehicleof FIG. 7 .

As shown in FIG. 8 , the air conditioner 100 for a vehicle according tothe present invention includes an air-conditioning case 110 embedded ina dash panel of the vehicle. In this instance, the air-conditioning case110 includes the first unit 200, the front seat blower 360 of the secondunit 300 and the front seat discharge unit 400.

As described above, the first unit 200 includes the indoor and outdoorair inlet 220 having the indoor air inlet 210 and the outdoor air inlet211, and the cooling heat exchanger 230 disposed therein, and iscommunicated with the front seat blower 360 of the second unit 300.Moreover, the front seat discharge unit 400 includes the front seatheating heat exchanger 410 disposed therein to communicate with thesecond unit 300 and the front seat air outlet 420 for discharging theair passing through the front seat heating heat exchanger 410. That isthe air-conditioning case 110 is formed in such a way that the firstunit 200, the front seat blower 360 of the second unit 300, and thefront seat discharge unit 400 are combined with one another in order tocommunicate to one another.

That is, differently from the conventional air conditioner that the airis discharged to the interior of the vehicle after passing through theblower unit, the evaporator and the heater core in order, the airconditioner according to the present invention is characterized in thatthe front seat blower 360 is arranged between the cooling heat exchanger230 and the front seat heating heat exchanger 410 and the indoor air orthe outdoor air passes through the cooling heat exchanger, the blowerand the front seat heating heat exchanger in order. The cooling heatexchanger 230 and the front seat heating heat exchanger 410 are notarranged in one unit in the air-conditioning case 110 embedded in thedash panel of the vehicle, but are respectively arranged in differentunits. Therefore, the air conditioner for a vehicle according to thepresent invention can secure the interior space of the vehicle moresince the volume of the air-conditioning case 110 is reduced remarkably,and allow the passenger to utilize the interior space of the vehicle. Inthis instance, the cooling heat exchanger 230 arranged in the first unit200 is arranged vertically so as to reduce the entire thickness of theair-conditioning case 110.

In other words, because the first unit 200, the front seat blower 360 ofthe second unit 300 and the front seat discharge unit 400 are combinedwith one another in order along the width of the dash panel in a vehiclewidth direction to communicate with one another, the air conditioner fora vehicle according to the present invention can secure the interiorspace of the vehicle more. Therefore, the air conditioner for a vehicleaccording to the present invention is suitable for autonomous vehiclesrequiring a wide front seat space in which a heating sheet can berotated or moved to face the rear side.

In this instance, the first unit 200 includes a first exit 250communicating with the second unit 300 and a second exit 260communicating with a rear seat outlet 380. The second exit 260 is formedat a lower end of the first exit 250 and communicates with the rear seatoutlet 380, and the rear seat outlet 380 passes a lower portion of thefront seat discharge unit 400 and is combined with the rear seat vent340 extending to the floor of the vehicle.

The second unit 300 includes the front seat blower 360 disposed thereinto blow the air introduced into the first exit 250 of the first unit 200to the front seat discharge unit 400. In this instance, the controller(not shown) can directly control an amount of the air blowing to thefront seat discharge unit 400. Moreover, the front seat blower 360 hasthe same structure as the conventional blower, is arranged between thefirst unit 200 and the front seat discharge unit 400 to be verticallyerect to secure the interior space.

Therefore, because the front seat blower 360 is arranged to be erect inthe second unit 300, the air supplied from the first exit 250 isintroduced in a perpendicular direction, and then, flows toward thefront seat discharge unit 40 in the perpendicular direction again. Inthis instance, the air in the interior of the vehicle introduced throughthe indoor air inlet 210 is supplied to the first exit 250 through thecooling heat exchanger 230.

The front seat discharge unit 400 communicates with the second unit 300so that the indoor air or the outdoor air controlled in the amount ofair by the front seat blower 360 is introduced through the first exit250. Furthermore, the front seat discharge unit 400 includes a pluralityof front seat air outlets 420 formed at one side thereof, an airpassageway formed therein to communicate with the front seat air outlets420, a front seat heating heat exchanger 410, and a front seattemperature adjusting door 430 for adjusting the degree of opening of apassageway passing the front seat heating heat exchanger 410.

In this instance, the front seat air outlets 420 of the air-conditioningcase 110 include a defrost outlet 425 disposed toward the front of thevehicle, and a left side outlet 426, a left roof outlet 427, a rightroof outlet 423, and a right side outlet 424 which are disposed towardthe rear of the vehicle in order and are adjacent to the defrost outlet425. The air blown from the second unit 300 passes through the frontseat heating heat exchanger 410 by the temperature adjusting door 430,and then, is discharged to the front seat air outlets 420. Additionally,front seat mode doors 450 may be mounted at one side of each front seatair outlet 420 in order to determine an amount of air discharged tovents connected with the front seat air outlets 420 or to selectivelydistribute the air.

FIG. 9 is a perspective view showing an air-conditioning case and a roofvent connected to the air-conditioning case, FIG. 10 is a perspectiveview showing the entire appearance of the air conditioner for a vehicleaccording to the preferred embodiment of the present invention, and FIG.11 is a perspective view showing the air conditioner of FIG. 10 isarranged on the roof of the vehicle.

As shown in FIGS. 9 and 10 , the air conditioner 100 for a vehicleincludes: a roof vent 600 communicating with the air-conditioning case110, extending to the roof of the vehicle after passing through a frontfiller of the vehicle, and having a roof outlet 610 for discharging airabove the front seat sheet 120; a rear vent 340 communicating with theair-conditioning case 110 and arranged along the floor of the vehicle; arear seat roof vent 700 communicating with the rear seat vent 340,extending to the roof of the vehicle after passing through a rear fillerof the vehicle, and having a rear seat roof outlet 710 for dischargingair above the rear seat sheet 130; and a defrost vent 800 communicatingwith the air-conditioning case 110 and having a defrost outlet 810 fordischarging air after passing through the front filler of the vehicle todefrost side windows of the vehicle.

The air conditioner 100 for a vehicle according to the present inventionis suitable for autonomous vehicles requiring a wide front seat space inwhich a heating sheet can be rotated or moved to face the rear side.When the front seat sheet 120 faces the front side, cold and warm air isdischarged to the passenger's front side from the front seat outletcommunicated with the side outlets 426 and 424 of the air-conditioningcase 110. When the front seat sheet 120 faces the rear side, cold andwarm air is discharged above the passenger from the roof outlet 610 ofthe roof vent 600 communicating with the roof outlets 428 and 423 of theair-conditioning case 110.

The above is achieved considering that a passenger who is sitting on thefront seat may see the rear side during unmanned driving of theautonomous vehicle. When a sensor (not shown) disposed at one side ofthe front seat sheet 120 senses rotation or movement of the front seatsheet 120, the controller can automatically convert a front sidedischarge mode or a rear side discharge mode according to the direction(passenger's sitting direction) of the front seat sheet 120. The sensormay be one among various well-known methods, such as an infrared sensor,and it does not limit the present invention.

Furthermore, in case of the autonomous vehicle, it is important todefrost side windows since the passenger sitting on the front seat sheet120 sees the side window rather than a front window of the vehicle whenthe front seat sheet 120 faces the rear side. Therefore, the defrostvent 800 includes the defrost outlet 810 arranged along the boundarybetween the roof and the side window and communicated with the defrostoutlet 425 of the air-conditioning case 110 to discharge air in order todefrost the side windows of the vehicle.

In the meantime, the air conditioner according to the present inventionmay further include a central outlet 820 communicated with the rear seatair outlet 520 and formed in the floor of the vehicle between the frontseat sheet 120 and the rear seat sheet 130. The central outlet 820discharges cold and warm air toward the passenger's feet sitting on thefront seat sheet 120 and/or the rear seat sheet 130 when the front seatsheet 120 faces the rear side.

The rear seat sheet 130 is arranged at the rear side of the front seatsheet 120. In the drawings, two arrays of the front seat and the rearseat are illustrated, but three arrays may be arranged. Additionally,three or more arrays of the discharge units including the front seatdischarge unit 400 may be formed to independently performair-conditioning in the plurality of areas.

Meanwhile, the controller (not shown) can distinguish whether or not thepassenger sits on the front seat sheet 120 and/or the rear seat sheet130 through the sensor.

In this instance, it is determined that the passenger is sitting on thefront seat sheet 120, the controller operates the front seat blower 360and opens the front seat adjusting door 311. Therefore, the airintroduced from the indoor and outdoor air inlet 220 flows to the frontseat discharge unit 400 after passing through the front seat blower 360.

Moreover, when the front seat sheet 120 faces the front side, thecontroller opens the front seat mode door 450 to discharge the air tothe side outlets 426 and 424 so that cold air or warm air can bedischarged to the front seat passenger's front. On the contrary, whenthe front seat sheet 120 faces the rear side, the controller opens thefront seat mode door 450 to discharge the air to the roof outlets 427and 423 so that cold air or warm air can be discharged above the frontseat passenger.

If it is determined that there is a passenger sitting on the rear seatsheet 130, the controller operates the second blower 330 and opens therear seat adjusting door 341. Therefore, the air introduced from theindoor and outdoor air inlet 220 flows to the rear seat discharge unit500 after passing through the second blower 330.

In order to discharge bad smell generated from the cooling heatexchanger 230 and to ventilate the interior of the vehicle, it isnecessary to rapidly discharge the indoor air of the vehicle and the airpassing through the air conditioner to the outside rapidly.

FIG. 12 is a schematic diagram showing an air conditioner for a vehicleaccording to a seventh preferred embodiment of the present invention,and FIG. 13 is a perspective view showing the air conditioner of FIG. 10is arranged on the floor of the vehicle.

Referring to FIGS. 9, 12 and 13 , the air conditioner for a vehicleaccording to the present invention further includes a discharge hole 540formed at the rear side of the vehicle to discharge the air to theoutside of the vehicle. That is, the air conditioner can discharge theair in the interior of the vehicle introduced into the auxiliary indoorair intake 370 and the bad smell generated from the inside of thecooling heat exchanger 230 or the air-conditioning case 110 to theoutside of the vehicle through the discharge hole 540, and it will bedescribed in detail as follows.

The auxiliary indoor air intake 370 is formed at the rear seat vent 340arranged at the floor of the vehicle, and is arranged at the center ofthe vehicle. Preferably, the auxiliary indoor air intake 370 is formedbetween the front seat sheet 120 and the rear seat sheet 130, and morepreferably, between the front seat blower 360 and the second blower 330.Furthermore, the discharge hole 540 is formed in the rear seat dischargeunit 500, and discharges the air passing the second blower 330 to theoutside of the vehicle. An opening and closing door 541 for opening andclosing the discharge hole 540 is disposed at one side of the dischargehole 540.

In this instance, as shown in FIG. 12 , the front seat adjusting door311 is closed to block the air flowing toward the front seat dischargeunit 400, the rear seat adjusting door 341 is opened to make the airflow toward the rear seat discharge unit 500, and the second blower 330is operated to the maximum. Additionally, when the rear seat air outlet520 is closed, the outside air of the vehicle passes through the coolingheat exchanger 230 through the outdoor air inlet 211, and is mixed withthe inside air of the vehicle through the auxiliary indoor air intake370 and is discharged to the outside of the vehicle through thedischarge hole 540.

As shown in FIG. 13 , the auxiliary indoor air intake 370 is formed atthe center of the vehicle to rapidly absorb the indoor air of thevehicle. When the second blower 330 is operated to the maximum, theoutdoor air of the vehicle can be discharged to the outside of thevehicle after passing through the air-conditioning case. Therefore, atthe time of the initial starting of the vehicle, only the second blower330 is operated to the maximum for five to ten seconds in order todischarge the initial unpleasant smell to the outside.

Finally, in order to rapidly discharge the indoor air of the vehicle tothe outside of the vehicle to ventilate the interior of the vehicle, theopening and closing door 541 is opened, the indoor air of the vehicle isinhaled through the indoor and outdoor air inlet 220 or the auxiliaryindoor air intake 370, so that the air can be discharged to the outsideof the vehicle through the discharge hole 540.

Additionally, because the front seat adjusting door 311, the front seatair outlet 420, and the rear seat air outlet 540 are closed and the rearseat adjusting door 341 is opened, the air passageway toward the frontseat is blocked, and the indoor air of the vehicle introduced from theindoor air inlet 210 of the indoor and outdoor air inlet 220 through therear seat vent 340 is discharged to the outside through the dischargehole 540 disposed at the rear of the vehicle. In this instance, when theauxiliary indoor air intake 370 located at the center of the vehicle isopened, the indoor air can be discharged through the discharge hole 540together with the inside air of the vehicle introduced from the indoorair inlet 210.

The front seat mode door 450 together with the front seat adjusting door311 closes the front seat air outlet 420, and the rear seat mode door550 closes the rear seat air outlet 520 in order to perfectly blockintroduction of air into the interior of the vehicle.

Moreover, in order to remove the smell of the cooling heat exchanger230, which serves as an evaporator, if ventilation of the cooling heatexchanger 230 is needed, the opening and closing door 541 is opened toinhale indoor air or outdoor air of the vehicle through the indoor andoutdoor air inlet 220 so that the air can be discharged to the outsideof the vehicle through the discharge hole 540 after passing through thecooling heat exchanger 230.

In this instance, because the front seat adjusting door 311, the frontseat air outlet 420 and the rear seat air outlet 520 are closed and therear seat adjusting door 341 is opened, the air passageway toward thefront seat is blocked to block introduction of unpleasant smell, and theindoor air of the vehicle introduced from the indoor air inlet 210 ofthe indoor and outdoor air inlet 220 through the rear seat vent 340 isdischarged to the outside through the discharge hole 540 disposed at therear of the vehicle. In this instance, the auxiliary indoor air intake370 located at the center of the vehicle is blocked to preventintroduction of the unpleasant smell, and the front seat mode door 450closes the front seat air outlet 420 and the rear seat mode door 550closes the rear seat air outlet 520 in order to perfectly preventintroduction of air into the interior of the vehicle.

What is claimed is:
 1. An air conditioner for a vehicle for providing anindividual air conditioning effect in a plurality of areas of thevehicle, comprising: a first unit equipped with an air inlet and acooling heat exchanger; a second unit configured to communicate with thefirst unit and having a blower disposed therein; a front seat dischargeunit that is distinguished from the first unit, and configured tocommunicate with the second unit, and having a front seat heating heatexchanger disposed therein and a front seat air outlet for dischargingthe air passing through the front seat heating heat exchanger; and arear seat discharge unit that is distinguished from the first unit, andconfigured to communicate with the second unit, and having a rear seatheating heat exchanger disposed therein and a rear seat air outlet fordischarging the air passing through the rear seat heating heatexchanger; wherein air introduced into the air inlet is discharged to afront seat right temperature adjusting door through the front seatheating heat exchanger or discharged to a rear seat right temperatureadjusting door through the rear seat heating heat exchanger afterpassing through the cooling heat exchanger and the blower; wherein thefront seat discharge unit further includes a front seat left outlet anda front seat right outlet for discharging air to the interior of thevehicle, a front seat left temperature adjusting door disposed at afirst side of the front seat heating heat exchanger to adjust atemperature of air discharged to the front seat left outlet, and a frontseat right temperature adjusting door disposed at a second side oppositethe first side of the front seat heating heat exchanger to adjust atemperature of air discharged to the front seat right outlet wherein therear seat discharge unit includes a rear seat left outlet and a rearseat right outlet for discharging air to the interior of the vehicle, arear seat left temperature adjusting door disposed at a first side ofthe rear seat heating heat exchanger to adjust a temperature of airdischarged to the rear seat left outlet, and a rear seat righttemperature adjusting door disposed at a second side of the rear seatheating heat exchanger to adjust a temperature of air discharged to therear seat right outlet and wherein the second unit further includes anair blast adjusting door for controlling air selectively blown to thefront seat discharge unit or the rear seat discharge unit.
 2. The airconditioner according to claim 1, further including partition wall fordividing the air blown to the front seat discharge unit and the rearseat discharge unit.
 3. The air conditioner according to claim 1,wherein the air inlet of the first unit includes an indoor air inletwhich is an inlet for inhaling indoor air of the vehicle, an outdoor airinlet which is an inlet for inhaling outdoor air of the vehicle, and anindoor and outdoor air door disposed at one side to selectivelyintroduce the indoor air or the outdoor air of the vehicle.
 4. The airconditioner according to claim 1, wherein a plurality of the blowers aredisposed corresponding to the discharge units to blow air to thedischarge units.
 5. The air conditioner according to claim 4, whereinthe plurality of discharge units include: a front seat discharge unithaving a front seat heating heat exchanger disposed therein and a frontseat air outlet for discharging the air passing through the front seatheating heat exchanger; a rear seat discharge unit having a rear seatheating heat exchanger disposed therein and a rear seat air outlet fordischarging the air passing through the rear seat heating heatexchanger; a blower for inhaling air from the first unit and blowingwind to the front seat discharge unit; and a second blower for inhalingair from the first unit and blowing wind to the rear seat dischargeunit.
 6. The air conditioner according to claim 5, wherein a front seatadjusting door is disposed at one side of the blower to block the windintroduced into the blower.
 7. The air conditioner according to claim 6,wherein the rear seat vent is arranged at the floor of the interior ofthe vehicle, and an indoor air intake is formed at one side thereof. 8.The air conditioner according to claim 5, wherein the front seatdischarge unit includes: a front seat left outlet and a front seat rightoutlet for discharging wind to the interior of the vehicle; a front seatleft temperature adjusting door disposed at one side of the front seatheating heat exchanger to adjust temperature of wind discharged to thefront seat left outlet; and a front seat right temperature adjustingdoor disposed at one side of the front seat heating heat exchanger toadjust temperature of wind discharged to the front seat right outlet. 9.The air conditioner according to claim 5, wherein the rear seatdischarge unit includes: a rear seat left outlet and a rear seat rightoutlet for discharging wind to the interior of the vehicle; a rear seatleft temperature adjusting door disposed at one side of the rear seatheating heat exchanger to adjust temperature of wind discharged to therear seat left outlet; and a rear seat right temperature adjusting doordisposed at one side of the rear seat heating heat exchanger to adjusttemperature of wind discharged to the rear seat right outlet.
 10. Theair conditioner according to claim 5, further comprising a communicationvent which makes the wind passing through the blower pass through therear seat discharge unit.
 11. The air conditioner according to claim 10,wherein the communication vent includes a communication vent door foradjusting the degree of opening of the communication vent.